This is for discussion of advancement items
Scouts, as you make choices about which trips you attend, you should be aware that your time camping with the troop does affect OA election eligibility.
In order to be placed on the ballot for election to the Order of the Arrow, there are established requirements. Specifically, after registration with a troop or team, a scout must have experienced 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping during the two-year period prior to the election. The 15 days and nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. The balance of the camping must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps.
Youth must be under the age of 21, hold the BSA First Class rank or higher, and following approval by the Scoutmaster or Varsity team Coach, be elected by the youth members of their troop or team.
OA Elections are held annually in the February to May timeframe. Following every trip our troop takes, the leader provides a report to Mrs. Norton, the Troop Advancement Chair, and she records information such as duration and location of the trip, attendees, whether it was tent or cabin camping, and whether scouts earned the Firem’n Chit or Tot’n Chip. The Troop’s official records, as maintained by Mrs. Norton, are used by the BSA for advancement purposes, as well as for things like OA election qualification.
Effective January 1, 2014, a revised Cooking Merit Badge and a new Sustainability Merit Badge join the list of Eagle-required merit badges. Some key points on the change are below:
• Sustainability, a new merit badge, joins Environmental Science as an Eagle Scout option after its debut at the 2013 jamboree.
• Cooking, meanwhile, will become Eagle-required as of Jan. 1, 2014.
• The total number of merit badges required for the Eagle Scout Award will remain at 21. In other words, instead of 12 Eagle-required badges and 9 elective badges, a Scout must earn 13 Eagle-required and 8 elective badges.
• Regardless of when a Scout earned the Life rank or began working on Eagle, unless he fulfills all the requirements—with the exception of his board of review—before Jan. 1, 2014, he must earn the Cooking merit badge to become an Eagle Scout.
• If Scouts have already started on the Cooking Merit Badge, they may switch to the new requirements or continue with the old ones until the badge is completed.
• If a scout has earned the badge under the old requirements, as scout need not re-earn the badge under the new requirements in order to qualify for Eagle Scout.
•
There are two important articles to read for those of you on the trail to Eagle Scout:
See http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/10/17/cooking-sustainability-merit-badges-to-become-eagle-required/ and http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/11/01/faqs-about-cooking-and-sustainability-merit-badges/
Eagle Candidates
Life to Eagle process – Please review this Life to Eagle Document for your preparation for the rank of Eagle Scout. It contains many different things you must do in order to complete the requirements for the Rank of Eagle Scout.
Advancement Records – The troop Advancement Chairperson keeps records of all your activities, although you may also want to keep your own copy as well. For your convenience, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is available for you to record your activities and progress. To download the template, right-mouse button click on this Advancement Tracker Spreadsheet link, and select “Save target as”. Save the file to your local computer, and you can edit the file in Microsoft Excel.
Eagle Scouts
Congratulations!!! Now that you’ve completed your Trail to Eagle, the troop needs to prepare for your ceremony. There are a number of things to prepare for on your side, as well. Please review the following information, complete the questionnaire. If you have any questions, please contact our Eagle Ceremony coordinator, Mrs. Peggy Cameron at cameronm@optonline.net
Ceremony Choices – All ceremonies contain the Eagle Oath and Eagle Charge. When you let Mrs. Cameron know which script you would like to use, she will work with you to “fill in the blanks” on participation roles, dignitaries, etc.
- Voice of the Eagle – In this ceremony, the “Voice of the Eagle” presents a narrative of the scout’s trail to Eagle, highlighting the scout’s credentials as specific events in the Scout’s journey.
- Eagle Court – In this ceremony, the scout is presented before a “court” which reviews elements of the Scout Law in reference to the scout’s credentials.
- “Simple” Ceremony – This ceremony includes a review of the scout’s credentials, the Eagle Oath and Eagle Charge.
Invitation Template (added 01/15/12) – Families are obligated to print their own invitations. The troop will announce the Eagle Ceremony in the weekly Pathfinder Email, and the troop will also handle the invitation of dignitaries to the events. Dignitaries include the President of the United States on down to our local Mayor and Council of Oakland.
For your convenience, a Microsoft Word 2010 document template is available, formatted to the size and layout of the Eagle Ceremony invitation card stock available through BSA Supply which can be purchased at the scout shop in Oakland, or at www.scoutstuff.org. To download the template, right-mouse button click on this Invitation Template link, and select “Save target as”. Save the file to your local computer, and you can edit the file in Microsoft Word 2010.
Sustainability, a new merit badge, will join Environmental Science as an interchangeable option pair Eagle-required badge after its debut at the 2013 jamboree. Cooking will become Eagle-required as of Jan. 1, 2014. The total badge count will remain at 21. The elective badge count will drop from 10 to 9,with one spot replaced by cooking.